The wood anemone is one of the spring bloomers. From March onwards, the bed is covered with delicate cup flowers, which over time combine to form dense carpets. Find out here how the Anemone nemorosa ushers in spring in your garden.
When and where should the wood anemone be planted?
The wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) is a spring bloomer that produces white, delicate cup flowers from March onwards and thrives in a partially shaded location. It prefers humus-rich, loose and nutrient-rich soil. August and September are the ideal planting time to achieve lush flowers next year.
Planting bush anemones correctly
As summer comes to an end, it is time to plant spring bloomers. If the Anemone nemorosa goes into the ground now, nothing will stand in the way of early flowers next year. In August and September the soil temperature is perfect for the tubers to quickly gain a foothold in the bed. Follow these steps:
- Soak the tubers in water overnight
- Dig small hollows at a distance of 15-20 cm in a partially shaded location
- Plant 1 rhizome each 5-6 cm deep
- The layer of soil above a tuber is twice its height
Press the soil firmly with your hands and then water with the watering can sprayer. If the soil quality does not meet the ideal criteria, add soil additives beforehand. Loamy soil is enriched with sand and compost. If the substrate contains too much sand, add bark humus or horse manure.read more
Care tips
In a partially shaded location with substrate of forest floor quality, the Anemone nemorosa only requires gardening attention now and then. How to properly care for the wood anemone:
- Keep the soil constantly moist in spring
- Keep a little drier during the summer
- Fertilize once in March and April
- Mulching with nettles, comfrey or compost
- Cleaning up dead flowers extends the flowering period
The autumn leaves serve as natural protection against constant winter wetness and release valuable nutrients as they decompose. The wood anemone does not receive any pruning in the actual sense. If there are still parts of the plant on the rhizome in late winter, they can be cut off for aesthetic reasons. Please keep the toxic content in mind during all care work and wear protective gloves.
Which location is suitable?
The wood anemone loves a location with sun in spring and shade in summer. The Anemone nemorosa finds these ideal conditions at the foot of deciduous trees and bushes. In spring, these are still there without their foliage so that light and rainwater reach the flowers. In summer, the leaf canopy protects the plants from harmful weather influences.
A common fungal pathogen prohibits the close proximity of wood anemones to deciduous plants of the Prunus genus. The Anemone nemorosa serves as an intermediate host for the spores before they attack plum, apricot or cherry trees in summer.read more
The correct planting distance
Place the Anemone nemorosa at a distance of 15-20 cm. To green a larger area with wood anemones, plant 25 specimens per square meter.
What soil does the plant need?
The Anemone nemorosa thrives tirelessly in the garden for many years if the roots can spread in this soil:
- Humos and loose, like fresh forest floor
- Nutrient Rich
- Fresh, moist and well-drained
- Neutral to minimally calcareous
What is the best time to plant?
Plant the bulbs of wood anemones in sunny soil during the months of August and September. At this time, the Anemone nemorosa finds ideal conditions for rapid spread of its rhizomes and fine roots. Anyone who misses the date can purchase young plants from the garden center in spring so that they can be planted in March.
When is flowering time?
As a rule, the flowering period of an Anemone nemorosa extends from March to April. Use the following two tricks to lengthen this period:
- Cleaning up wilted flowers
- Combine early flowering with later appearing varieties
Cut anemones correctly
On two occasions, an Anemone nemorosa's desire for undisturbed growth is subordinated to the requirements of care. If you cut off withered flower heads, this measure will extend the flowering period. Scissors are also used to cut off all remaining plant parts close to the ground in late winter. Until then, you should give the rhizomes time to assimilate the remaining nutrients and use them to create energy reserves for the next season.
Watering bush anemones
During the growth and flowering period, the water requirement is at a higher level than during the summer. How to water the Anemone nemorosa appropriately:
- In spring, keep the soil constantly moist without causing waterlogging
- Watering wood anemones after flowering in dry summer conditions
If there is a pond in the garden, use the nutrient-rich water for watering and save yourself the need to add fertilizer.
Fertilize bush anemones properly
Wood anemones react harshly to any disturbance. Therefore, do not disturb the spring flower with compost in order to incorporate it into the upper layer of soil as fertilizer. A liquid organic or mineral-organic fertilizer covers the nutrient requirements without attacking an Anemone nemorosa with a rake. How to do it right:
- Administer a dose of commercially available liquid fertilizer every March and April
- Fertilize optionally with plant manure made from nettles and comfrey
- Additional mulching with compost and nettle leaves
In addition, leave the autumn leaves in the bed as additional humus and natural winter protection.
Diseases
The poison content protects the Anemone nemorosa like a protective shield against a number of plant diseases that can be rampant in ornamental and kitchen gardens. The pathogens of the rust fungus Puccinales don't care much about the toxicity, because this disease can affect the wood anemone. The first symptoms are yellow, mosaic-like spots on the tops of the leaves. Since rust fungi act as parasites, they do not form fruiting bodies. Instead, they deprive the wood anemone of its life force before the spores switch hosts to stone fruit plants in the summer. How to fight the disease and prevent it effectively:
- Cut off infected leaves and dispose of them in household waste
- Treat the plant with Universal Fungus-Free from Bayer Garten (€29.00 on Amazon) or Compo
Repeated spraying with horsetail broth from March onwards as well as potassium-focused organic fertilization with comfrey manure have a preventive effect. Above all, when choosing a location, you should avoid proximity to stone fruit trees, as these serve as alternating hosts for the pathogens.
Wintering
An Anemone nemorosa prepares for winter by completely retracting the above-ground parts of the plant. Due to their water content, leaves and stems would not survive frosty temperatures anyway. The rhizome, on the other hand, is sufficiently protected in the soil and functions as a hibernation organ. A well-established wood anemone therefore does not require any explicit protective measures. Only freshly planted perennials will protect you from winter damage:
- Before the first frost, cover the planting site with leaves, straw or brushwood
- Do not use foil, due to possible rot formation due to condensation
In subsequent years, leave the autumn leaves of neighboring trees in the bed as a natural protection against frost and snow.
Propagate wood anemones
The wood anemone takes care of its further spread in the bed by stretching out its rhizomes from year to year. If you have the desire to green additional beds with the distinctive spring bloomer, the Anemone nemorosa has the following propagation methods on offer:
- Division of the rhizomes in spring or autumn
- Cut cuttings during flowering, place in lean substrate and allow to root
- Separate the root cuttings in autumn, place them flat in the ground with winter protection
If you have a we alth of experience as a hobby gardener, sowing adds to this list. If you are familiar with the process of stratifying lime buckets and have a lot of patience, sow the seeds behind glass. Direct sowing in the bed is theoretically possible from February, but is rarely successful.
Is wood anemone poisonous?
Unfortunately, the elfin flower hides a poisonous secret. Toxins typical of all buttercup plants flow through the plant pathways of an Anemone nemorosa. A common living environment for wood anemones and children or pets is therefore not recommended. Planting and care work should only be carried out with protective gloves.read more
Is the wood anemone protected?
When a hiker encounters the graceful wood anemone in the spring forest, the temptation is great to pick the delicate flower creature. It's better to resist this wish, because the Anemone nemorosa is a protected species. Collecting and digging up is punished with heavy fines in Germany.read more
What identifying features does the profile contain?
Are you thinking about cultivating the wood anemone in your own green kingdom? Then the following profile contains interesting attributes that serve as a useful decision-making aid:
- Herbaceous, spring green flower
- White cup flowers with 6-8 bracts, arranged in 2 circles
- Whirl-shaped, deep green bracts in the upper third of the stem
- Growth height from 10 to 25 centimeters
- Flowering period from the end of February/beginning of March to the end of April/beginning of May
- Up to 30 centimeters long rhizomes as a survival organ
- Completely hardy and deciduous
- Poisonous in all parts
The small, dark-colored tubers are typical of the Anemone nemorosa. Over the course of growth, these develop into a rhizome up to 30 centimeters long with root shoots and runners.read more
Trivia
A wood anemone doesn't want to witness the tragedy of a gloomy spring day. When it rains, the Anemone nemorosa simply closes its flowers and tilts its head towards the ground. When the sun peeks out from behind the clouds again, the flower stands up and opens its wreath.
The most beautiful varieties
- Alba plena: the variety enchants with densely filled, snow-white flowers in April and May
- Rosea: sends graceful spring greetings with delicate pink flowers from the end of March
- Robinsoniana: a large-flowered Anemone nemorosa with lavender-blue flowers in spring
- Bracteata Pleniflora: the elegant selection surprises with white flowers edged in lime green
- Vestal: white Anemone nemorosa with a striking double flower shape and late flowering from April
- Buckland: the delicate blue petals change to pink and violet in the sunshine
- Lychette: the vigorous wood anemone scores with the largest flowers of its kind in pure white
